Why Do Grey's Anatomy Break Gender Stereotypes

In the world, today women are not fairly represented in the media. There are many problems that the media never tries to fix, such as the underrepresentation of the people of colour and women. There are shows that do break through these norms in today’s media. One television show that is breaking these norms is Grey’s Anatomy. Grey’s Anatomy is a show about a group of interns at Seattle Grace Hospital and it shows each individual interns journey and we watch each character grow over the 13 seasons that have been on the air. Grey’s Anatomy breaks many stereotypes and barriers that women in real life struggle with.

One of the biggest lessons in the that Grey’s shows through their complex female characters and that they don’t need a man to

save them. One of the main characters Christina Yang is the leader in this charge. She does not think it is necessary that you have to be married to be happy. She does not need a man to be happy, all she needs is her career and her person. That being Meredith Grey, she also a talented surgeon and is now a widow. Yes, it is sad but she is making it on her own. (B,5) She did love her husband, but she did not need him by her side all the time. Meredith did not need McDreamy to stand on her own two feet, she is “the sun” according to Christina. Christina is the one who smacked Meredith upside the head and told her to pull her head out of her ass and remember that she does not need a man to be amazing she just needs to be herself. “Remember that no man (…), defines who you are” (B,3). Let’s not forget Ellis Grey herself. The amazing surgeon that grabbed life by the balls and made no apologies for it. In the show, she was a leading surgeon, who won a Harper-Avery, the most prestigious award in the medical field. Ellis Grey refused to thank the “men” who got her there because no man supported her through her research. Ellis Grey did it all by herself and it showed “how difficult success was for women in the generations before.” (D,12) in a man dominated field.
In media, there are relationships everywhere, whether it is romantic or not but when it is between women, “positive relationship between [them] aren’t regarded as important.” (A,9) The relationship between women is not represented in the media enough, the media pits women against women over a man or something trivial as that. In Grey’s Anatomy, there are many relationships between women and where they support each other. A perfect example of this is Meredith and Christina, when they first entered the residence the program they could have been “enemies” and had a rivalry but instead, they ended up best of friends. When Meredith starts to become too obsessed with Derek too much Christina give her advice “Don’t let what he wants eclipse what you need. He’s very dreamy, but he’s not the sun you are.” (B,6) They are able to give each other advice no matter how real they have to be. This includes platonic relationships between men and women. Such as Meredith and Alex after Christina’s character left the show. Every relationship in that show regardless if it is romantic or platonic “They support each other’s careers, drama, and baggage.” (A,7) without complaint.
Being a boss and taking charge of their life and not feeling bad about it is another strong theme in the show.

Many of the women in this show are portrayed as people who “aren’t afraid to take charge and be unstoppable” (C,10) in their field of work. Christina is a great example of women taking charge and it paying off because she becomes one of the best cardiothoracic surgeons in the show. Women as a whole need to start asking for what they want and what they need. Christina never shied away from asking to scrub into surgeries that she wanted to learn from. Even Doctor Bailey knows that women need to ask for what they want, she taught Meredith Grey a lesson when she was appointed chief of general surgery, Meredith had a significant gap in wage compared to her peers. Bailey did not give in to when Meredith tried to beat around the bush and mention it. Bailey did not move on the subject until Meredith women up and asked for a fair salary that was on par with her peers. (C,4) and she got where she wanted because she asked for it. Even know asking for something might be difficult might be worth it.

(C,14)
Bodies of women in the media are usually sexualized and women are seen as an over emotional beings. Izzy Stevens was shamed because she modeled her way through the med school. Being called Dr. Model but “she was not about to be slut-shamed” (B,8) because of how she worked her way through the med school. It is not anyone's business, but she was not ashamed of it, and she shouldn't be. Throughout all media, women are shamed because of their body because women are sexualized but are not allowed to embrace their sexiness. Another thing women are usually stereotyped as are emotional. Women are portrayed as over emotional but yet all the women in Grey’s Anatomy are tough and strong. They show emotion but not when it was unnecessary. These characters have been through various traumatic experiences and have handled them in their own ways, but were never over emotional. When they needed to cry they cried and it showed “crying doesn’t make you weak. It is a normal human emotion.” (C,11)
Women everywhere feel the pressure to be perfect because of what the media says women are supposed to look like.

“Studies indicate that when women do appear in media, they appear in sexualized indicates [and affects] women’s and girls’ self-esteem” (F,3) but with Grey’s Anatomy, none of the women are sexualized or perfect. Each woman in Grey’s Anatomy is different and unique in their own way, they come in all shapes, sizes, and colors. Many of the women in the show are in positions of power and they are not all of the women are white women. Grey’s shows us that women are just as strong as men, maybe not in the physical sense, but they are able to think rationally in high-pressure situations and are able to stay calm. Yet in the same breath, they know it's okay not to be okay and they handle and lean on each other for

help.
“Third wave feminism [is an] increase of attention to individual empowerment was important” (E,9). This wave of feminism is wanting to empower individual strengths that each woman has and wants to achieve. Grey’s Anatomy shows each woman in this show as an individual, even every man as an individual. Not dependent on each other but sometimes need each other support. Women can be working mothers and still be amazing at their jobs. There are plenty of women in the show who have children and others who do not, and it is completely normal. There are couple who are the same sex and it is completely normalized by this show. Women are capable of moving on after a heartbreak. “Women can be more.Women are more” (A,5)
Media has stereotypes all through it and women are usually placed in a limited stereotype as a mom or a romantic interest and not much more. There are a few shows that are pushing these boundaries and make women strong and show that women can be a kick ass surgeon. The media tends to show women in a passive role yet in the real world there are amazing women out in the world yet the media did not decide not to show it. There are mothers, doctors, and women in power but there are no signs of that in the media. Which is why we need a bit of feminism in the world because we need to see more powerful women represented in the media.